Improving walkability along the Langley Bypass. Taking a page from Nanaimo’s OCP

Over the BC Day long weekend, I passed through Nanaimo, heading north towards Campbell River and Quadra Island. Back in the late 1980’s, my family lived in Gold River, so it was interesting to see what has changed in the last quarter-century. This was the first time I’ve been back since that time.

While I don’t remember the absence of big box retail from my childhood memories of these areas, one of the big things I did notice on this trip was the number of strip malls and power centres on Vancouver Island. Based on the location and architecture of these retail locations, many of them looked like they were built at the beginning of the 21st century.

The Langley Bypass area is big-box central, and is not a pleasant environment for walking or cycling. Even with this, I see people walking and cycling in this part of town. Nanaimo’s "Langley Bypass" is Highway 19A. This corridor runs for about 10 kilometres, and it makes the Langley Bypass look quaint.

The Highway 19A corridor does have a trail that runs parallel, but connectivity between the trail and services along the corridor is limited. Highway 19A is owned by the provincial government, and just like the Langley Bypass, the provincial government has the ability to dictate zoning within 800 metres of these highways.

The Highway 19A corridor through Nanaimo

A modern, efficient transportation system is one where people can feel comfortable walking or cycling, where quality transit is available, and driving is a choice. Back in 2008, Nanaimo city council adopted a new Official Community Plan (OCP). The vision in this plan is to transform the Highway 19A corridor into multi-modal, mixed-use corridor over time.

While the plan talks about building mixed-use projects with retail on the ground-level, and residential above, it also talks about large-format retail. How does Nanaimo plan on making large-format retail accessible to people no matter the mode of travel chosen? According to their OCP:

The redevelopment of any Corridors to improve automobile travel shall also consider improvements that add to the human scale of the corridor, increase the proportion of landscaping and green space, and improve safety for non-motorized travelers. Sidewalk and landscaping design will enhance pedestrian and vehicle separation.

The development of primary parking areas between the front face of the buildings and the street in Corridors is not permitted.

In some locations, the OCP requires that “any large format retailing will be required to implement street oriented design formats that create vibrant and accessible streetscapes for pedestrians.”

Some of the requirements in Nanaimo’s OCP, as it relates to large-format retail, could also be applied in Langley. The Langley Bypass could be improved, and with a rapid transit stop planned near Fraser Highway and the Langley Bypass, now is a good time to think about the future of that corridor. If Nanaimo’s vision is to transform a strip mall and big box corridor into a more accessible place, certainly we can do the same in Langley.

Bus service speeds are slowing down throughout Metro Vancouver. Find out why the 96 B-Line is not.

Early last month, I posted about TransLink’s 10 Year Plan for transit expansion and transportation improvements throughout our region. This plan is currently being implemented, and there is more bus service today thanks to these improvements which started in earnest last year.

As I noted at the time, about 25% of the new bus service hours being implemented are to combate congestion to ensure that buses can continue to run on-time. Congestion is increasing in our region, but even with this increasing congestion, there are ways to ensure that buses can stay on-time, and service doesn’t slow to a crawl.

When it comes to bus service speed there are a few factors at play. The first is how many stops a bus makes. For regular bus service, the more stops a bus makes, the slower the route becomes. Another factor that impacts bus service speed in how many people board/disembark at each stop. The more people, the longer a bus needs to dwell at a stop. The third factor that impacts bus speed is the number of other vehicles that are using the same lane as a bus; regular old congestion.

What can be done to ensure that bus service speeds don’t slow down? Limited stop service, like the B-Lines, combat the first challenge with stops. The second challenge can be combated with off-bus ticketing. For example, on some routes in Seattle, you can tap in at the bus stop.

An example of off-bus ticketing from Seattle.

Giving buses a way out of congestion takes the help of local governments. For example, TransLink’s data shows that the 96 B-Line which runs along King George Boulevard and 104 Avenue has maintained a consistent service speed of around 23km/h since its introduction in 2013. As shown in the following pictures, Surrey has also invested in bus queue-jumper lanes in key areas to get buses out of congestion.

A bus priority lane along King George Boulevard. Source: https://twitter.com/SkyTrain4Surrey/status/644307139792535552

A bus using a queue jumper lane along King George Boulevard. Source: http://www.surrey.ca/city-services/7585.aspx

The 321 which is a local bus that is subject to all three slow-service factors operates along King George Boulevard. It has maintained its service speed at an average of 27km/h over the years.

The 503 is a limited stop service that runs along Fraser Highway. Its service speed has reduced from an average of 35 km/h in 2014 when the service first started, to an average of 34 km/h in 2016.

The 502 is a local bus that runs along Fraser Highway. Its service speed has reduced from an average of 29 km/h in 2013 to 26 km/h in 2016.

I take the 502 or 503 daily, and can attest that the biggest factor in slow service is congestion along some sections of Fraser Highway. Like Surrey did along King George Boulevard, bus priority lanes in certain sections of Fraser Highway should be built.

Municipalities and TransLink must work together to ensure that buses have a way out of congestion by adding queue jumper lanes, bus lanes, and even off-bus ticketing where required to speed up service. These are all capital costs that will reduce operating costs and help keep buses running on-time.

25% is a big number. Just imagine what service improvements could be implemented if TransLink didn’t have to use precious service hours to deal with congestion.

Note: Bus speed data is from TransLink’s recently released 2016 Transit Service Performance Review.

The high cost of developing rural land. Sewerage fees increasing in Metro Vancouver.

When people think of what infrastructure is required to build and sustain a growing region, thoughts of streets, parks, garbage/recycling service, and lighting come to mind. Of course, water, sewer, and other utilities are required, but because they are usually buried underground, they are out of sight and out of mind.

Clean water and sewer treatment are the basic requirements to ensure that public health is maintained. Providing these services in a growing region like Metro Vancouver is not without cost. The Metro Vancouver regional district builds and operates the main water and sewer networks in our region. For more information on who provides services in our region, check out an infographic posted to this blog.

The regional district maintains a network of wastewater treatment facilities and sewer mains which are divided into four disconnected areas as shown on the following map.

Map of Metro Vancouver sewerage areas. Select map to enlarge.

Most of the region, including the South of Fraser, is in the Fraser Sewerage area. This sewerage area also services the fastest growing parts of our region which means that major investment is needed to keep up with demand.

Metro Vancouver has recently published a list of sewerage projects that are required to accommodate the growing population in our region. For the Vancouver area, $49 million in projects are required. $3.5 million in projects are required in the North Shore area. $53 million in projects are required in the Lulu Island (Richmond) area.

For the Fraser Sewerage area, a staggering $2.6 billion in projects are required over the next 25 years to accommodate growth. Many of these projects in the Fraser Sewerage area are to support rapidly urbanizing, former rural areas. 96% of all sewerage projects to accommodate growth in our region will be built in the Fraser Sewerage area over the next 25 years.

In our province, these types of projects are paid for by development cost charges. This means that for every new housing unit or square foot of commercial/industrial property built, the developer must pay the regional district a fee.

Because of the level of investment needed in the Fraser Sewerage area, Metro Vancouver is proposing a significant increase in these development fees as noted in the following table.

Proposed Development Cost Charges for sewerage, by area. Select table to enlarge.

Because Metro Vancouver has different rates for different parts of our region, it highlights how it is costlier to build out a sewer network due to sprawl as opposed to redevelopment. Unfortunately, because of the size of the Fraser Valley sewerage area, it means that development projects in New Westminster are paying for the cost of service expansion in South Surrey.

While it may be less money for a developer to build in rural areas, it costs society more. Sewer service is just one of many examples of this.

Langley City Crime Prevention Task Group: promoting CPTED reviews, Block Watch, and Business Watch

Last Thursday, the Langley City Crime Prevention Task Group met. You can read about the work that the task group has completed to date by reviewing my posts about the May and the June meetings. At this most recent meeting, we reviewed what the City does to promote Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED).

Gerald Minchuk who is the Director of Development Services and Economic Development provided an overview of how the City requires that CPTED principles be incorporated into all new apartment, townhouse, commercial, and industrial development projects. He also reviewed the work that the City does to incorporate CPTED princples into our own facilities such as Douglas Recreation Centre and Al Anderson Memorial Pool.

While CPTED principles are incorporated into new development projects, our City was built-out long before CPTED was a thing. One of the mandates of the task group is to promote CPTED, included spaces that currently aren’t following CPTED principles. The RCMP currently offers free CPTED reviews; the task group wants to promote the availability of these reviews. The task group, along with City staff, is looking at including information about these CPTED reviews as part of the business license renewal process.

The task group also passed a motion that will be reviewed at a September council meeting, asking that council consider promoting the RCMP’s free CPTED review program, Block Watch program, and Business Watch program in partnership with the Downtown Langley Business Association, Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, and the local media. The task group also asked council to consider a social media advertising campaign to promote these programs and provide CPTED tips.

One of the things that the task group heard from the RCMP is that they want to know about all suspicious or unsavoury activities, even if an immediate police response is not required. They want people to call their non-emergency number to report these activities. To help promote the non-emergency number, the task group passed a motion requesting that council consider purchasing 5,000 fridge magnets that will be distributed free-of-charge to residents in our community. The magnet distribution program would be geared towards seniors.

There was also discussion at the meeting about developing a phone app that could be used to report issues to the City, and provide the RCMP non-emergency number. More discussion on this idea will occur in the fall.

The task group also heard from Dave Selvage who is the manager of the City’s bylaw enforcement department. He reviewed how the department is working towards an integrated approach with the RCMP and other service agencies to target problem areas in our community where negative activity occurs.

The next Crime Prevention Task Group meeting will be in September.